What can you expect if you swim naked in the Meuse?
The summer of 1759 was particularly hot. The temptation to undress and bathe in the Meuse was great, despite the high risk of drowning and, above all, the edicts of 1688 and 1689 prohibiting all public bathing.
Jean-Théodore de Bavière, then Prince-Bishop of Liège, noted that during this heatwave, "many young people without religion, without modesty and blinded to the misfortune of their fellow men who drown and perish miserably, expose themselves & run naked (sic) through the streets of the Cité and along the banks of the Meuse, to the great scandal of everyone, to go swimming & bathing under the pretext of watering horses or under some other pretext (...)") "
From then on, the Prince-Bishop, surrounded by his Privy Council, took a firm decision, which, like all ordinances and edicts, was proclaimed on the steps of the Liège perron, to the sound of trumpets, and posted so that it could be read by the public.
To put an end to this disturbance to public order, it was important that offenders be denounced and that the punishment be redhibitory. Thus, Jean-Théodore ordered that they be whipped or beaten back to their homes, that their clothes and belongings be confiscated, and that they pay a fine of 3 to 9 gold florins, to be shared between informers and officers.
Today, walking around naked or in a bathing suit, or bathing in public fountains, is of course still considered an affront to public decency, but informers are no longer rewarded...
Ordonnance renouvelant et amplifiant les édits antérieurs qui défendent de se baigner dans les lieux exposés à la vue du public, Liège, Éverard Kints, August 4, 1759, 490 x 370 mm (Fonds patrimoniaux de l'ULiège Library, R79A2F)
